The hubs in our hub drive conversion kits are compatible with disk brakes; they have a standard 6 bolt hole pattern in the hub, so a standard rotor can be bolted straight onto the hub. They also work with standard rim brakes (generally known as V-brakes), but make sure they’re properly adjusted so they can provide enough stopping power.

Unfortunately hub drive kits will not work with coaster brakes when the coaster brake is in the wheel that you’re replacing with the motor rim. A coaster brake is located in the hub of your wheel, and with a hub drive kit the motor wheel replaces your “normal” wheel and the motor takes up the space where the coaster brake would have been.

If you have a coaster brake in the rear wheel and you’re converting the front wheel, that would still work as you’re not doing anything with the wheel that has the coaster brake. If you have a coaster brake in the wheel that you want to convert, you’d have to look into replacing that coaster brake with a V-brake or disk brake.

Mid drive conversion kits

Our mid drive conversion kits are compatible with disk brakes and V-brakes, but are not compatible with coaster brakes. The reason for this is that a coaster brake is activated by pedalling backwards, but the mid drive kits freewheel when you pedal backwards so the brake can’t be activated.

If you have a coaster brake and you want to use a mid drive kit, you’d have to change the coaster brake to a V-brake or disk brake.

E-brakes

All our newest conversion kits come with e-brake sensors. These sensors can be used on a wide range of brake levers, as they are simply stuck on top of your existing brake levers. This means you don’t have to change anything about your current brake setup to install these e-brake cut-offs.

The installation instructions for the e-brake sensors are in the conversion kit manuals, which can be found on the website.

There are two types of gearing: derailleur gearing and internally geared hubs. When you want to install a mid drive kit, the kit will work with both types. Easy as. The only thing with mid drive kits is that you will lose your front derailleur (if you have one), because the motor only allows one front chainring to be installed. So with mid drive kits you will only be able to keep the gears in the rear.

With hub drive conversion kits it can be slightly more complicated. If you’re doing a front wheel conversion, no worries. You’re not interfering with the gearing and therefore you don’t need to take this part into consideration.

If you’re doing a rear wheel conversion you need to pay attention: you can’t do a rear wheel conversion if you have an internally geared hub in the rear. That entire wheel will be replaced with the motor wheel, and the motor will take up the space where the internally geared hub was. So if you have an internally geared hub and you want to do a rear wheel conversion, you’d have to either use the kit with a single speed (not particularly recommended, explained below) or change to a derailleur system. Also note that you can only use the threaded, screw-on type freewheels in combination with the rear hub motors, you can’t use splined cassettes.

Why are gears useful on an electric bike?

When you add a motor to a normal bike, you don’t really feel the need for the gears as the motor makes pedalling so much easier. But gears are still useful on an electric bike, because they will help the motor to perform better and help save on battery life.

When using the proper gearing, the motor, controller, and battery won’t have to work as hard and will perform better for a longer time. For instance, when you go up a hill in a high gear instead of a low gear, the motor will have to work so much harder to get you up that hill. This also means that the motor will put more strain on the battery and controller, which will cause these components to age more quickly. So, if you want to use your electric bike for a long time, it helps to help the motor by choosing the right gear for the job!

]]>Thu, 07 Dec 2017 06:27:24 +0000http://dillengerelectricbikes.com.au/blog/sea-otter-2017.html
Sea Otter, the most enduring harbinger of spring in southern California for the past 25 or so years, was a compendium of more than 400 exhibitors vying for the favors of an audience which has been somewhat blase about their offerings recently, much like the tapering of motorcycle interest during the early 1980's and automotive sales currently. There were many extremely innovative products which are delineated below and should reverse the trend of the past few years. One discipline that appears robust is e-bikes and related products as about 30 exhibitors had new models, some, like Haro blasting forward with 10 new e-bikes.

Bosch, the most prevalent purveyor of motors for the electrified contingent, reigned supreme as mid-drives dominated the scene; similar versions of their motor were promulgated by Brose, Yamaha, TransX and Shimano, all promising that their system was superior. One of the more interesting mid-drives was a coaxial motor produced by eProdigy, available on a variety of their bikes. Many manufacturers distinguished their e-bikes from the others with options for very large capacity or piggy-back batteries promising ranges which were unavailable previously. The interest which has been precipitated for e-bikes should provide an opportunity for do-it-yourself (DIY) suppliers to reap the benefits of their years of dedication to sourcing

increasingly more proficient systems. Most of the OEM products are very similar and relatively high priced in the range from $2,500 to $15,000 which has kept buyers away in droves. Also, since almost all of the models were mid-drives, there was little to distinguish them. Proper education will inform potential customers that front or rear hub systems are adequate for many purposes and can be secured for a much lower cost. If they need a mid-drive for a hilly commute or off road adventures, they're available too.

Other new products in no particular order are:

Locks - Kryptonite, Abus and Rocky Mounts had a plethora of new models, all with more security than has ever been available, although none able to defeat the dreaded angle grinder.

Dropper Posts - There were at least five new models of this product seemingly a favorite of serious riders everywhere. They were from Crankbrothers, Fox, Race Face, X-Fusion and 9Point8, with the latter model weighing less than 340 grams which should have the XC crowd salivating.

Canyon - The consumer direct bike seller showed the entire extent of their impressive product line. However, if their models didn't excite an individual, Airborne and YT, also direct to consumer, had very interesting competitive models.

Focus - The German brand, known for their cyclocross offerings in the US market, is attempting to penetrate the trail bike market.

Bontrager - Going large with redesigned carbon wheels for all-mountain ($1200) and XC ($700). These lower prices for a known entity should promise rapid acceptance.

Giant - Provided a sneak peek of their new Anthem which they call the ultimate racing machine and signifies their return to 29 inch XC bikes after eschewing them for several years. This upper echelon hardtail may be on your dealer's floor soon and weigh less than 20 pounds.

Lauf Grit Fork - The Iceland-based company introduced their 890 gram, 30 mm travel gravel bike fork which has glass fiber leaf springs. An odd duck with no damping, but the owners of Lauf forks that I've surveyed love them.

Manitou Mastadon - This behemoth with three different travel options provides the fat bike crowd with another option.

Cane Creek HELM - The first front suspension product from the North Carolina-based company is targeted toward the gravity contingent. The price ($1100) suggests that only an individual who can take advantage of all the tunability need apply.

Fox AX - This new fork was launched for the gravel crowd and is derived from their ultra-light StepCast fork.

Last, but not least, was a surge in the number of bikes for kids. Apparently marketers think this is the year that youngsters will try to surpass their parents in the amount of bling on their bikes as models ranged as high as the $3499 Woom unit with XTR Di2 drivetrain and 20 inch wheels. The bike is reported to weigh 16 pounds.

That's it for bike and component manufacturers. There were many new clothing products and consumables which were tried on and tasted. Perhaps, SCB will report on these separately in future issues.

Bob

]]>Fri, 05 May 2017 05:58:16 +0000http://dillengerelectricbikes.com.au/blog/spring-forward.html
Springtime in southern California means the terminus of cold, rainy weather (although most years we experience neither) appearance of the red-breasted robin (although I've never seen one here) and the most relevant harbinger, Sea Otter and the annual pilgrimage to Monterey, CA. Any trip from socal to the more northerly environs mandates a stop at Montana de Oro State Park where the riding ranges from challenging technical single-track that rewards the rider with views of a full spectrum of vividly distinctive wildflowers to other adventures that provide spectacular scenery surrounding ocean vistas with waves crashing below. The ravenous appetite that is generated must be satiated at the Farmer's Market in nearby San Luis Obisbo where the downtown area is closed for the evening.

My anticipation of this event has been building to a crescendo since the announcement of an electric mountain bike race at the venue. This is the icing on a cake that overflows with new e-products and the opportunity to learn more about the rapidly evolving technology. My time will be filled with taking test rides of new bikes and speaking with representatives to ascertain the differences between their new products. Some questions and topics that I'm looking to explore are:

1) What changes are the major manufacturers planning in order to attract a dormant US public to consider e-commuting and what price range are they considering. Similarly, what are they proposing for their e-mountain bikes (eMTB) to neutralize the resistance of the public to adopt them in light of antagonism from the pedal only mountain biking community and land managers that aren't embracing these new "trespassers"?

2) How serious are Ohm, M1Sportechnik, Focus and Reisse-Muller about penetrating the US market with their technologically-sound, but very expensive bikes?

3) Will Bosch release the next generation of their mid-drive system?

4) Will other component manufacturers join SRAM in producing more robust parts so they can withstand the extra power generated by e-bikes?

5) Does either Abus or Kryptonite have anything new up their sleeve to thwart thieves? Their locks aren't immune to hand-held angle grinders, and the best of them can be defeated in less than two minutes.

6) Will there be any new e-bike touring companies, either road or MTB?

7) What is the do-it-yourself (DIY) community doing to ensure they maintain their advantage, including, but not limited to, pricing and weight considerations over OEM entries?

Of course, there will be other bike equipment and apparel for examination and there's an excellent opportunity to augment my collection of logo-adorned tee shirt and sock collection to ensure that I'll be the best dressed socal denizen for the next year. Then the piece de resistance, the Electric Mountain Bike Race which should be a supreme test of stamina and strategy as the competitors attempt to nurse their batteries in order to provide maximum assistance during the event.

The festival will start spring off with a boost that should carry well into summer.

Bob

]]>Fri, 05 May 2017 05:57:51 +0000http://dillengerelectricbikes.com.au/blog/making-sure-your-wheels-measure-up.html
The final part of purchasing an electric bike kit is to choose the correct rim size for your bike. This is a reasonably straightforward exercise as it is written on the sidewall of your existing tyres. Though there are a few caveats, you should know about as some tyre sizes are an odd measurement, but are compatible with the one rim size.

First, if your tyre says either 650b or 27.5” they will fit on the same rim size. Second, if your tyre reads 700C, 29er or 28” they will all fit perfectly on a 700C-sized rim. The only thing you will need to be positive about is if your current bike tyres are a 29er, they can sometimes have wider rims and hubs. Read this article about checking your bikes measurements.

]]>Wed, 13 Jul 2016 02:20:35 +0000http://dillengerelectricbikes.com.au/blog/how-do-i-know-if-an-electric-bike-kit-will-fit-my-bike.html
There are many different types of bikes on the market, this makes it difficult sometimes to work out if one of our electric bike kits will be a good fit or not. We hope that this will help you with the major points to look out for, making it an easy choice.

We have designed our kits to fit as broad a range of bikes as possible, and by checking a couple of measurements, you can be positive of a good fit.

First, the axle slot width. These are standard with the majority of bikes coming with a 10mm width. This is where the motor axle will fit in; if your bike measures up at approximately 10mm then you are ok for this measurement.

Next is the dropout width.

This requirement will differ based on whether you opt for a front or rear motor. First the front motor. The width of the dropout should be approximately 100mm, if it is out by +/- 5mm that is ok.

For a rear motor, you will need 135mm width between dropouts, +/- 5mm.

]]>Wed, 13 Jul 2016 02:20:00 +0000http://dillengerelectricbikes.com.au/blog/joes-350w-kit-installation.html
Sitting here in California, I opted for the Dillenger kit after researching alternatives. There were choices from the U.S. and Canada, and this was the first time I dealt with an Australian company. I’m 70, 5’ 11”, and weigh in at 230 pounds, and use my bike to get exercise, riding almost exclusively on pretty flat bicycle trails. My objectives were to provide assistance on hills and against headwinds, to extend my range and time on the road, and to keep the overall bicycle weight down. And, of course, to do it as inexpensively as possible.

My bike is a Specialized Expedition Sport Low Entry hybrid. I purchased it used in good condition a while back for $175. I estimate it is about three years old. It’s got 3 gears on the front and 7 on the back, operated by twist shifters. It has linear brakes. Here’s what it looked like before conversion:

I chose the Dillenger 350W - 8Ah Electric Bike Kit as the best for me, trading off a bit of range against less weight and cost. The kit set me back $549USD, with free shipping included. Delivery was prompt and without incident. The packaging is excellent. There are no instructions included in the box, but you can download them from the Dillenger web site. Before doing anything else, I had to mount my old tube and tire on the Dillenger hub. This is nothing more than what you would do to change a flat, so it’s no big deal. But you have to do it, and it has to be counted in your installation time estimate. My first real installation decision was whether to use a torque arm or not. I had several conversations with Dillenger support, and it could have gone either way. On the one hand, the 350W motor probably doesn’t generate excessive torque, but against that, the Specialized bike has a front suspension with aluminum alloy forks. I agonized a lot, and eventually opted for safety, purchasing the Grin TorqArm_V3 for $30. I also spent a lot of time on YouTube researching the installation of torque arms. I anticipated problems because the suspension forks leading to the dropouts are pretty big around on this bike. The width between the forks was almost exactly 4 inches and the dropouts were precisely 10 mm. The hub fit in just right, and I was starting to feel confident. But then Mr. Murphy struck. The threaded axle is only so long; if I dispensed with the torque arm, the securing nut on the non-cable side could be tightened all the way down. But the torque arm is thick enough to take up valuable space on the threaded axle, and once installed made it impossible to get the nut all the way down with thread showing out the end. So the choice was this: guarantee better tightening but eliminating the torque arm, or installing the torque arm and getting somewhat less purchase for the nut. Tough decision. I decided to go with the torque arm after reassuring myself that the nut was not going to come loose. Incidentally, the Grin torque arm comes with the C-washer you need for the lawyer lips on the Specialized dropouts. It—the V3 model—was also the only torque arm that would have fit my fork and dropout combination. If you are going to install a torque arm, I encourage you to carefully examine your situation, and take measurements if possible. When I got the torque arm provisionally in place, I detected yet another problem. The cylindrical forks bulge out immediately above the dropouts, and the screws on the hub interfered with the fork. This was exactly the problem I had anticipated earlier. Fortunately, I was able to file a little metal off the inside of the fork at the place where the interference occurred, enabling the hub to spin freely. At that point I tightened everything down and declared victory on the front wheel installation. Here is a photo of the torque arm side of the bike, after other stuff was installed. You can see the details of the torque arm if you zoom in to the front wheel hub mounting.

The next adventure involved mounting the battery cradle. Upon dismounting the bottle holder, I discovered that the threaded insert holes did not match the slots in the battery cradle, so the best I would be able to do was to use one of them, and then use a hose clamp for the second point of attachment. I viewed that as a suboptimal solution. I considered several alternatives, and finally decided not to mount the cradle on the diagonal down tube, in part because I really didn’t want to sacrifice my water bottle holder. So I used hose clamps to attach it to the vertical downtube under the seat. The good news here is that the seat is high enough up to permit installation there without problems. So that part of the installation was completed.

Next, the handlebars. I really didn’t want to dismount everything to get at the brake levers. I was able to install the twist throttle and the control box, one on each side, and things looked pretty neat. Then I deliberated whether I really needed the motor cutoffs on the brake levers. After much thought, I decided once again to go for safety, and disassembled everything to install the brake levers that come with the kit. That added a few hours to the job, because you have to reinstall the brake cables and then adjust the brakes. But, when all was said and done, I was pretty happy with the new cockpit layout.

The next-to-last thing was the PAS. Once again, I had to decide whether to use it or not. Fortunately, I had tested an electric bike with pedal assist a few weeks before purchase, and the test ride convinced me that it was worthwhile. Installing the disk was a no-brainer—thank goodness!—but the sensor mount was tricky. All the mounting surfaces are curved, and you need to get the sensor to lie flat. It also has to be stable, and very close to the disk. As in VERY CLOSE, almost touching. So getting that sensor in place was challenging. Connecting it to the battery/controller was simple, as the bottom of the cradle was not far from the sensor mounting location.

Here’s a photo that shows both the PAS and also my addition of an Aussie flag to the Dillenger battery. Might as well let the Californians know where the kit came from.

The final step was connecting all the wires and making everything neat. The four-to-one connector that attaches to the front stem was a big help. Dillenger is to be thanked for that convenience. With the black spiral wire wrap, the four new cables—throttle, control box, and two brake cutoffs—could be grouped into two groups of two, and then those two new pseudo-cables run down each side of the handlebars to the four-to-one. In the end, only two cables go from the front of the bike to the back: one that goes from the bottom of the battery cradle to the front hub, and another from the bottom of the battery cradle to the four-to-one. All in all, a very neat solution that requires not too many tie wraps.

I tested everything with the battery installed. The system lit up on the first try, and by holding the front wheel off the ground, we could test the twist throttle. Check! Then we held the twist throttle on and had a helper squeeze each of the brake levers to see if the motor shut off. Check! Then we turned the bike upside down and rotated the pedal crank to see if the PAS was working. Check! The bike was now ready for field test, but I was having some problems with my somewhat ancient carcass—mine, not the bike’s! It would have to wait for saddle testing. A few days later, my back/hip/leg felt good enough to attempt the maiden voyage. I just took a few spins around the parking garage. I am happy to report that no wheels fell off, that the reinstalled brakes worked fine, and that the added weight did not make the bike more difficult to handle. The pedal assist sensor worked to perfection, and the hand throttle supplied boost on demand. I’m confident that when the weather and my hip improve, the first real road test will not fail right out of the starting gate. One of the marvelous things is how quiet the motor is. Sort of like a whirring noise, very stealthy. Compared to gasoline-powered bikes, this is definitely the wave of the future: no emissions, and no noise pollution either. I won’t say that the installation was a slam-dunk, but all the issues we encountered were overcome with a little thought and a lot of persistence. It took several sessions of a few hours each, a total of perhaps ten hours. My cost so far is $175 + $549 + $30, for a total of $754USD, which is about half what a low-entry electric bike costs today; in fact, the electric bike solution has a hidden cost of about $150 for shipping. I believe that in no case can you get away with anything under $1,000 for an electric bike, even with all the new low-priced solutions coming on the market in 2016. Other companies seem to have competitively priced kits, but when you compare the features and specifications, they don’t measure up. And when they come close, you discover that they have not been selling electric kits for very long. I encourage you to do your own research, but I am confident you will come to the same conclusion that I did. That decision was validated when I received the kit and did the installation. Dillenger delivers a quality product. Joe M

My old Diamondback had been hanging in the garage for almost eight years and was totally neglected. As I waited for the Dillinger kit to arrive I took the old bike off the rack and begin inspecting it to see what I needed to do to get it road ready. I knew that the conversion kit included new brake handles with integrated on/off switches for the hub motor. (The cut-off switches in the brake handles is for safety purposes). If you have integrated shifters that are in good working order and want to keep them, Dillinger offers a pair of brake cut-off switches that you can use lieu of replacing your current shifters.

On my old mountain bike I had integrated shifters but the 7-speed shifter was not functioning so I wanted to get new shifters anyway. I ordered a couple Shimano Altus 3x7 21 speed shifters. I needed new brake cables as well so I ordered a new set. I decided to replace the old center pull brakes with new V-brakes to insure I had some good working brakes on the "new" bike. I ordered a set of Shimano Acera brakes. I wanted a more comfortable "upright" ride with the new bike so I also ordered a new set of with a 4" rise handlebars. When I looked at the old tire on the Diamondback they were flat, dry and made for mountain bike trails. Since I was going to be riding on streets and improved trails now, I ordered a new set of rubber and went with a pair of Kendra Comfort tires. The rest of the components were OK and just needed a good cleaning.

Before beginning a E-bike conversion of an old bike make sure all your components are in good working order and replace or repair as needed. You are going to want a bike that is in good condition before you start cruising the roads at 20-25 mph.

The Dillenger kit . . .

The Dillinger kit arrive in about 3 days UPS from their California warehouse. Everything was packed well and after checking to make sure everything included with the kit were present, I begin the installation. My old Diamondback had a RockShox suspension fork. I tried fitting the front hub but the fit between the dropouts was a too tight, so a little filing was done to open up the space. When I dropped the hub motor in place I discovered that the fork tapered in as it went toward the handlebars and the motor screws rubbed on the inside of the fork. I decided to file a small flat spot to clear the hub screw that was binding. After that was corrected the hub spun freely.

I then proceeded to install the battery bracket on the bottle holder bolts. No problem here, it is the easiest step. Just make sure you orient the battery bracket so that the plug receptacle is at the bottom near the pedal crank. I then installed the new brake handles, throttle and digital display. All this was simple to do. The final step was to install the peddle assist ring and sensor which turned out to be the hardest step and required a little ingenuity .

I quickly discovered that my pedal crank was too large of a diameter for the snap ring. It was also a bit rounded where the ring needed to set. I started analyzing the situation trying to figure out how to get the snap ring on the crank. Fortunately, the Shimano peddle crank was cast aluminum and I decided to try and file a flat spot on the crank where I could glue the ring. I turned the bike upside down and used a metal file (while rotating the crank) to grind away some aluminum on the inside edge of the crank next to the bike frame. In a short time I had a 3/16" flat spot created on the inside of the crank. Next I snipped off all the plastic fingers on the magnet ring and enlarged the inside diameter of the ring a bit until it fit snuggly over the crank. I then glued it in place with 5 minute epoxy and installed the snap ring retainer. In doing this step, make sure the magnet sensor ring is running true when you turn the peddle crank and that the sensor attached to the frame is within 1/8" (3mm).

After attaching the snap ring I proceeded to connect all the cables and attach them neatly to the bike frame and handlebars. With everything in place I made one final check of everything and turned the battery on. A blue light, a good sign. Next I turned on the digital display and it came to life as well showing a fully charged battery that I had been charging while installing the components. The moment of truth, time for a test ride. I set the peddle assist at level three and started peddling down the street. Within about 2 seconds I felt the hub motor start and propel me on my way. Success, everything seemed to working as advertised! I have a new E-bike!

This concludes part two of My First E-Bike Experience. In my next post I will detail my experience after the first real test ride and what changes I had to make. Stay tuned for Part 3!

As stated earlier, there was a problem with the controller initially; this was resolved immediately by Sam Sewell, the owner of the company. IMO, he is an individual who has exhibited a very high degree of integrity in my association with him.

The aspect of e-biking that has been the biggest surprise to me is the degree that some vendors expect an individual to go to in order to resolve a problem with their product. This ranges from disassembling battery packs to troubleshooting electronic systems. Some of these are impossible to reach once they have your money. Dillenger, while having the lowest priced kit I could find (with the right specs and components), promised a plug and play kit with a one year warranty, and they delivered in spades.

About the performance. There's not a lot to report. A front conversion was the perfect system for my introduction to e-biking since with the mid mounted battery, the bike is balanced perfectly. The kit has performed flawlessly and hums along at 20 - 21 mph; after a year of use it seems to have the same range although I don't think that it's been subjected to a journey of more than 16 miles, almost always using throttle only.

Most of my trips have been to run errands, so of 5 - 15 miles. The bike is perfect for these outings, and probably faster than the car since I am able to avoid congested areas. Other times I ride on dirt trails along drainage channels in the area. These are not heavily used and it's fun to "bomb" along at 20 mph. On the rare occasions that other individuals are present, I just go into pedal only mode until they're out of sight. I really enjoy the balanced nature of the system at these intervals.

I treated the bike to a Brooks spring saddle for a little "rear suspension". It will probably require five or so years to break in the saddle since the British don't like to rush things. There are all sorts of magic elixirs which reduce the break in time, but I'm in no hurry. Also, time for some new tires! The slime tubes have performed admirably for the duration, and there have been no flats with them. Needless to say they are staying.

In summary, inexpensive (relatively), strong, light, pick any two, the old saying goes. I say buy Dillenger and don't compromise on any of them.

Like many people, my first bicycle came when I was a young boy. When I went off to college in 1971, the "cool" campus bike that everybody was riding was a Schwinn continental 10 speed. They were so popular I had to be on a 3-month waiting list to get one. I rode that bike for probably 10 years.

Bicycling faded from my regular activity list until my wife and I were enjoying a summer vacation in Frisco, Colorado several years later. We discovered that the entire Dillon valley of Colorado is laced with paved bike trails and the ski resorts were selling lift tickets to allow you to take your bike to the top of the mountain and ride the service roads and single tracks back to the bottom. Our interest in biking was sparked. We went to a local bicycle shop to rent bikes but ended up buying two Diamondback mountain bike. We took off riding the trails and did some downhill routes on the local ski slopes.

We took the bikes back home to Nebraska (flat land) where we rode them on the local streets and paved trails. I rode mine to work occasionally. In 2007 we moved to central Arkansas in the foothills of the Ozark mountains. The community where we moved was very scenic, but very hilly. I tried riding the bike a few times but quickly discovered it was a lot of work and not much fun. Even "granny gear" could not get me up some hills and I would have to get off an walk. The bike was hung up on the garage ceiling and there it stayed for eight years.

Biking possibilities renewed . . . .

A couple month ago I was surfing my Facebook pages when I saw a post from a friend who had recently opened an outdoor outfitting store. He had just returned from a trade show and said he was going to get some E-bikes into his store. He reported that these new E-bikes were serious fun and addictive. I'd never heard about E-bikes so naturally, my curiosity was tweaked.

A few days later I stopped by his store and asked him to show me the E-bikes. The bikes he had in stock where factory built bikes from a major manufacture (who also makes snowmobiles and ATV's). He showed me the features of the bikes and explained that they had a 750 watt rear hub motor and a controller with three (3) assist levels. The 36 volt battery was integrated into the frame. I asked if I could take a test ride.

I took off across the parking lot and down a street. I could immediately tell this was a whole new way to bike! I traversed a couple small hills with ease and clicked through the 8 gears and different levels of assist. It wasn't long before I begin to realize that with this "new kind of bike", I could traverse my "hilly" community with ease. I knew right away I wanted to get one.

DIY mentality . . . . The E-bike my friend was selling was certainly a nice bike and would be a great bike for touring around my community, but the retail price of $2500 was a little more than I thought I wanted to spend on a bicycle. Then I remembered my old Diamondback mountain bike hanging in the garage for the last eight years. It was a good bike. I thought to myself, surely there is an aftermarket "kit" out there that I could adapt to my old bike and turn it into a new E-bike? I begin searching the internet and quickly found several DIY kits of all types. I read reviews and other people's comments trying to decide which direction to go. One thing I wanted, was a kit from a reputable manufacture that was a complete solution with a battery, controller, pedal assist sensor, digital display and electric brakes.

Dillinger met my E-bike criteria . . . .

I discovered the Dillinger 350 watt front hub kit with the frame-mounted 36v 10ah battery. I really liked the fact that the controller was integrated into the battery and that the battery mounted on the bike frame using the bottle carrier supports. I liked the fact that the controller had five (5) levels of assist and the capacity of the battery was rated at a range of 25-50 miles and had an adjustable top speed of 25 mph. The geared front hub motor would be easier to install than a rear hub and power output of 350-500 watts would be adequate for my riding location. The fact that the kit was on sale for $799 was a bonus feature that sealed the deal. I placed my order.

While I waited for the kit to arrive, which took less than 5 days from their California warehouse, I considered the other items I would need to complete the conversion of my 30+ year old Diamondback response sport mountain bike into an updated 2015 E-bike.

Stay tuned . . .

In my next post to the Dillinger blog I will detail my experience with the conversion process and my impressions of the finished result. Stayed tuned!